Is 2014 the year for gay marriage in Ohio?

National groups say 'no'

Feb. 27, 2014

From left, Samantha Stephenson, Sarah Jewell and Peter Oehrtman were among the people who signed a ballot initiative in support of gay marriage Feb. 14 at the University of Cincinnati. Ohioans for Marriage Equality was on the campus gathering signatures. / Tony Jones/The Cincinnati Enquirer

Written by

and Chrissie Thompson

Should Ohio repeal its same-sex marriage ban?

We asked our readers their thoughts on same-sex marriage. Here is a sample of what you told us on Facebook: “Why should anyone have the right to say no? It’s not them.” — Christina Fegly “You say ‘yes,’ you’re branded a hater. You say ‘yes,’ you’re intolerant. If you say ‘no,’ then the other side says you’re just trying to be nice, keeping the peace. Either way you’re wrong.” — Jacqueline Borland DeFriece

Who supports same-sex marriage?

• 67 percent of Democrats support same-sex marriage, compared with 29 percent of Republicans and 53 percent of independent voters • 55 percent of women support same-sex marriage, compared with 46 percent of men • 71 percent of people between 18 and 29 years old support same-sex marriage, compared with 33 percent of people older than 65 Source: February 2014 Quinnipiac poll (margin of error was plus or minus 2.7 percentage points)

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Robert Johnson-Keeton grew up in a religious community just outside Chillicothe. He knows the residents there are the people he’ll have to convince that his marriage to Jeffery Keeton in Washington, D.C., should be recognized in Ohio.

“We pay our taxes. We go to work every day. We want the same right (to marry) in the state we choose to live in,” Johnson-Keeton said.

Johnson-Keeton married his husband in Washington, D.C., last July. They would have preferred to wed in Ohio but didn’t want to wait.

Johnson-Keeton said he’s confident Ohioans would repeal the state’s ban on gay marriage if the measure were on this fall’s ballot. It’s only a matter of educating Ohioans, especially rural area dwellers, about the amendment’s language and homosexuality in general, he said.

But if national gay rights advocates have their way, Johnson-Keeton will be waiting another two years for that vote.

A movement divided

In February, a coalition of Equality Ohio and several national gay rights groups officially decided it could not support efforts by some Ohioans to put gay marriage on the ballot this fall.

Support likely won’t be high enough to guarantee a win for same-sex marriage until 2016, naming that as their official target date for a ballot initiative.

A same-sex marriage loss “would be a major setback, not just for Ohio, but for the movement, because there are many other states similarly situated,” said Elyzabeth Holford, executive director of Equality Ohio. “We can’t fall down on the job.”

However, statewide group FreedomOhio won’t back down, Executive Director Ian James said. The group now has enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, and Ohioans support their amendment’s exemption for religious institutions, James said. If they can get enough money, they’ll put the question to Ohio voters in November, but the group has less than 1 percent of the $12 million believed to be needed to launch that campaign.

“We’ll win without them,” said James, a Columbus campaign strategist. “We’re not going to allow their negativity to hold us back on our efforts to guarantee freedom to marry for all loving couples in Ohio. Ohioans control this process, not Washington, D.C., and Beltway insiders.”

Exemptions for religious institutions?

Equality Ohio was founded after Ohio overwhelming passed its same-sex marriage ban in 2004.

More than 3.3 million Ohioans declared that marriage was between one man and one woman in the vote nearly 10 years ago. That number comprised 61.7 percent of people who voted on the constitutional amendment, according to Ohio Secretary of State records.

But the divide in Sandusky County was more pronounced — 67.1 percent supported a ban on same-sex marriages.

Seven years later, James helped start FreedomOhio and began gathering the 385,000 signatures needed to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. The amendment would allow marriage between “two consenting adults” who aren’t related and who aren’t currently married. “No religious institution shall be required to perform or recognize a marriage,” the text says.

Equality Ohio has worked with national groups such as the Human Rights Campaign that have helped run and finance successful same-sex marriage ballot campaigns in other states. Their partners and attorneys say James’ amendment has flaws in it that could lead to long court battles.

Measuring support

At the heart of the groups’ split has always been a disagreement over polling. In 2012, Equality Ohio and its national partners didn’t think Ohio was ready for a ballot initiative, a position they continue to hold.

A Quinnipiac Poll released Monday showed 50 percent of Ohio voters supported same sex marriage compared with 44 percent opposed. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. Support was highest among 18- to 29-year-olds (71 percent in favor), women (55 percent in favor) and Democrats (53 percent in favor).

But the Quinnipiac Poll, which culled from all registered voters, might not be representative of the 2014 electorate, which is typically more conservative than a presidential election.

While the recent Quinnipiac Poll “is great news and shows support is increasing,” Equality Ohio will not change its 2016 target, Premo said.

Dr. Andrew Murry, who lives in Lancaster and works as an infectious disease physician, is eager to have his marriage to David Dagg recognized in Ohio, but he understands the benefits of waiting. People in cities such as Columbus are more supportive of gay marriage; in Lancaster, it’s closer to 50-50, he said.

“I’m a little nervous that in Ohio it might be a close call,” Murry said. “In 2016, I think it will be on the ballot.”

That doesn’t mean Lancaster residents have been negative. Murry said he might get an occasional strange look from patients, but once people realize their relationship isn’t so different from their own, they are supportive.

“Our love is no better but certainly no less equal. We live in a country of laws and equality so this discrimination and intolerance has to go. It does not harm anyone if the government recognizes my marriage,” he said.

But FreedomOhio’s James is banking on Ohioans being more supportive of gay marriage than Murry and the national groups realize. He cites two polls from 2013 that show support for his amendment among Ohioans is hovering at 52 percent to 54 percent when respondents find out about its religious exemption.

Equality Ohio executives say a gay-marriage ballot initiative will face waves of contrasting arguments from opponents of gay unions. Only if a majority of Ohioans already support same-sex marriage will an amendment pass, they say.

Short on cash

The Equality Ohio decision leaves James without hope of receiving any national money to help with his ballot initiative. He estimates his group would need at least $12 million to run a campaign if his amendment got on the ballot, and it has $23,000 on hand. Whether FreedomOhio can raise the money will determine whether the amendment goes on the ballot in 2014, James said.

FreedomOhio’s leadership will make that decision this spring. “There are other people around this country who like the aspirational approach of FreedomOhio, who don’t like the negativity of Equality Ohio,” James said of his group’s fundraising potential.

FreedomOhio has had 62,000 people sign up to help with its campaign, and it’s already gathered more than 650,000 signatures. James said the ballot campaign would save money by targeting likely supporters. He believes the opposition to gay marriage is disorganized compared with 2004.

But Sharonville-based Citizens for Community Values, the conservative group behind the 2004 ban, says it has built its network to 10,000 churches. Evangelical Christians areworried about what schools will teach children about same-sex attraction and fear churches will eventually be forced to perform same-sex marriages, said leader Phil Burress.

“The turnout from the evangelicals will be massive,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what year it is. This is not about same-sex marriage anymore. This is about forcing their will on everyone else.”

Without national partners, James and his allies won’t raise the money they need to defeat opposition from groups such as Citizens for Community Values, Premo said. And national groups need a guaranteed win before they’re willing to step in.

For Ohioans aligned with James, the issue is too personal to heed national groups’ calls to wait.

“When we step off the plane at home in Ohio, we want to make sure we have marriage equality,” James said. “There’s always a chance of failure. That doesn’t mean that you don’t prepare to win.”